. obama, 52%, romney, 43%. the president is winning that part of the country. out west in denver, colorado, nevada, among the battlegrounds out here in the west. ten-point lead in the west for the president. 54% to 44%. the white vote and if you look regionally, there are things that give the president's team some optimism. >> if you're the romney campaign looking at these new poll numbers, what should give the romney folks some optimism? >> reporter: one of the reasons we are back in a closer race, a statistical dead heat nationally f you go state by state, it's a little different, this number, governor romney has improved his standing among independents. he leads by eight points among those who describe themselves as independent voters. that's a significant improvement for governor romney, 49% to 41%, among independents. and again the defining question, when you have an incumbent president, what do the american people think of that president's job performance? not do they like him, but what about his job approval rating? and the president's is down in our new poll. 49% of americans appro